Class Note 1965
Issue
Jan-Feb 2020
As you read this, winter is upon us. In Hanover (and Minnesota), surely “the wolf-wind is wailing at the doorways, And the snow drifts deep along the road, And the ice gnomes are marching from their Norways, And the great white cold walks abroad.”
Richard Hovey, class of 1885, made winter attractive for us, didn’t he? Although I remember the walk from the Commons to Brown Hall being pretty unfriendly (to say nothing of helping coax a VW Beetle to start when the temp drifted south of zero).
But before we get to the fire, the glass of cheer, and all that, let us take a moment to look back on the days of fall and the October 10-13 mini-reunion. Mike Gonnerman writes that festivities kicked off with a Thursday dinner at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. On Friday Hank Amon, Dave Beattie, and Rich Beams summited Mount Moosilauke (huzzah!). Friday night featured a gathering at Linda and Steve Fowler’s home and a trip to the bonfire on the Green. Saturday included college events and sports, with the traditional tailgate at Sphinx. The Green handed Yale a 42-10 thumping on the gridiron. Cocktails and dinner followed at Pierce’s, where we were joined by the class of ’64. Finally, Gonnerman chaired a class meeting on Sunday.
Attendees at the various events included Hank Amon, Sue and Dave Beattie, Rich Beams, Ted Bracken, Marianne and Don Bradley,Stephanie and Gary Bucher, Larry Duffy,Linda and Steve Fowler,Marcia and Pete Frederick,Betsey and Mike Gonnerman,Nancy and Roger Hansen,Brenda and Jaan Lumi,French and Bob McConnaughey,Emma and John McGeachie,Jory and Ken McGruther, Bob Murphy,Linda Waterhouse,Jane and George Wittreich,and Judy and Allen Zern.
Also in October, Roger Hansen represented the class at Alumni Council on October 17—a report will follow in the next column. Tom Long reports that his Normandy trip, which a number of us were privileged to take in 2016, has now added a high school plan. What a marvelous opportunity!
Ward Hindman (last column) got me thinking about those days of being freshman nimrods. (We fit both the modern usage as inept and the classical one as hunters, though we were not always sure what we were hunting, were we?) Then the year of being grand old seniors, responsible for the social (if not moral) education of callow freshman. That developmental arc was apparent to those of us who lived in the Choate Road dorms—suites of three doubles, two singles, and a common room. The clever social engineers in administration always included both upperclassmen and freshmen in each suite. Daily interaction allowed intellectual development (Weaver Gaines asking a hapless freshman taking “Philosophy I” to imagine “a being greater than which no other can be imagined,” creating a rock too heavy for him/her/it to lift) and other important matters (Colby Jr. Friday night or hitch to Boston?).
To prevent future mind ramblings from your sec’y, send me your own stories, mates. Please.
—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net
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More of 1965 Class Notes
Richard Hovey, class of 1885, made winter attractive for us, didn’t he? Although I remember the walk from the Commons to Brown Hall being pretty unfriendly (to say nothing of helping coax a VW Beetle to start when the temp drifted south of zero).
But before we get to the fire, the glass of cheer, and all that, let us take a moment to look back on the days of fall and the October 10-13 mini-reunion. Mike Gonnerman writes that festivities kicked off with a Thursday dinner at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. On Friday Hank Amon, Dave Beattie, and Rich Beams summited Mount Moosilauke (huzzah!). Friday night featured a gathering at Linda and Steve Fowler’s home and a trip to the bonfire on the Green. Saturday included college events and sports, with the traditional tailgate at Sphinx. The Green handed Yale a 42-10 thumping on the gridiron. Cocktails and dinner followed at Pierce’s, where we were joined by the class of ’64. Finally, Gonnerman chaired a class meeting on Sunday.
Attendees at the various events included Hank Amon, Sue and Dave Beattie, Rich Beams, Ted Bracken, Marianne and Don Bradley,Stephanie and Gary Bucher, Larry Duffy,Linda and Steve Fowler,Marcia and Pete Frederick,Betsey and Mike Gonnerman,Nancy and Roger Hansen,Brenda and Jaan Lumi,French and Bob McConnaughey,Emma and John McGeachie,Jory and Ken McGruther, Bob Murphy,Linda Waterhouse,Jane and George Wittreich,and Judy and Allen Zern.
Also in October, Roger Hansen represented the class at Alumni Council on October 17—a report will follow in the next column. Tom Long reports that his Normandy trip, which a number of us were privileged to take in 2016, has now added a high school plan. What a marvelous opportunity!
Ward Hindman (last column) got me thinking about those days of being freshman nimrods. (We fit both the modern usage as inept and the classical one as hunters, though we were not always sure what we were hunting, were we?) Then the year of being grand old seniors, responsible for the social (if not moral) education of callow freshman. That developmental arc was apparent to those of us who lived in the Choate Road dorms—suites of three doubles, two singles, and a common room. The clever social engineers in administration always included both upperclassmen and freshmen in each suite. Daily interaction allowed intellectual development (Weaver Gaines asking a hapless freshman taking “Philosophy I” to imagine “a being greater than which no other can be imagined,” creating a rock too heavy for him/her/it to lift) and other important matters (Colby Jr. Friday night or hitch to Boston?).
To prevent future mind ramblings from your sec’y, send me your own stories, mates. Please.
—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net